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Darkside
This section will be a work-in-progress that will better explain the various levels of the +darkside command that can be vague or ambiguous. First a brief primer on darkside actions: What actions lead to the darkside? I will use some quotes to illustrate a point: "It is a curious fact that all the minor acts enumerated in the penal code of a state like, say, New York are in law called crimes, which term includes both murder and overparking. It is a strong term to use for the latter, and of course the law has for centuries recognized that there are more serious and less serious crimes. At the common law, however, only two classes were recognized, serious crimes or felonies, and minor crimes or misdemeanors." Max Radin, The Law and You 91 (1948). There are crimes and there are crimes. Confused? Well, there are crimes that are just inherently wrong (“Malem in Se” is the legal term) which include assault, battery, murder, rape, etc. Then there are minor crimes that aren’t crimes for moral reasons but are crimes simply because they are prohibited by law (“Malem Prohibitium”). While a force user should avoid committing crimes classified as malem prohibitum simply to set an example for all and to avoid losing the faith of the authorities, their chief concern falls into the realm of those inherently wrong crimes. This is where purely legal definitions and moral definitions begin to diverge. "It quite often happens that the moral law disapproves of something which the secular permits as a concession to human frailty." Patrick Devlin, The Enforcement of Morals 78 (1968). Moral law, such as the philosophy of the Jedi or common moral values, holds behavior up to a much higher and more exacting standard. Did you lash out in anger and kill someone? You are a murderer. You attacked in anger and killed another living being. There is no call for temporary insanity, manslaughter, or throwing it out on a technicality. Did you attack someone for reasons other than self defense or arresting them with clear evidence of crime? You just committed a reprehensible act. Now the common defense here is, “But in ANH/ROTJ/ESB…” The common answer is, “Luke had the benefit of knowing who his enemies were in clear black and white.” A Jedi is supposed to be an avatar of justice and representative of his order. Even if a questionable action does not quite rise to the darkside there is a good chance that it will (or should) incur discipline from the Jedi order. So the question is what rises to the darkside? Well, it depends. There are two factors that people should consider when trying to determine if they are moving toward the darkside. 1. Actus Reus ("Guilty Act") - First, the act must be voluntary. It can also be voluntary inaction. Without voluntary, meaning conscious, action or inaction there is no fall. So you can ask yourself: What has the person done? Have they taken an action that could reasonably result in self or social condemnation or legal action? If so then the first element may be met. Intentionally harming another will always meet this requirement. 2. Mens Rea ("Guilty Mind") - What was the purpose, the mindset, behind the actions? In legal terms purposeful, knowingly, reckless, and negligent are the applicable categories. Here we are looking at anger, fear, aggression, recklessness, hate, or a total fall into an unrepentant state. If your mental state meets any condition described here or by Yoda in ESB and there is action accompanying it then you probably have a fall even if it is only a small one. Now what if you mean to attack someone in anger but instead hit someone else? You are guilty. You intended to strike another person and even though you didn’t hit your target due to misidentification or bad aim or even another circumstance you still took action on that intent. 1. Reckless reckless, adj. Characterized by the creation of a substantial and unjustifiable risk of harm to others and by a conscious (and sometimes deliberate) disregard for or indifference to that risk; heedless; rash. (Black's Legal Dictionary, 8th Edition) "Intention cannot exist without foresight, but foresight can exist without intention. For a man may foresee the possible or even probable consequences of his conduct and yet not desire them to occur; none the less if he persists on his course he knowingly runs the risk of bringing about the unwished result. To describe this state of mind the word 'reckless' is the most appropriate. The words 'rash' and 'rashness' have also been used to indicate this same attitude." J.W. Cecil Turner, Kenny's Outlines of Criminal Law 28 (16th ed. 1952). The above definition comes from Black's Legal Dictionary and this definition is used in 49 of 50 U.S. states (Louisiana likes to be difficult) as well as United Kingdom and its Commonwealths. I used this definition because it characterizes "reckless" not as an action or series of actions but as the mental state behind the actions. It is highly applicable to the theme of the "Force". +darkside reckless is often confused with +darkside stupid (sorry, +darkside stupid is not coded). Did they attack a criminal or group of criminals when they could have gotten useful information first? Without an urgent need to attack them, such as if they are about to execute someone, this falls under “stupid”. This is when their knight/master/companion slaps them in the back of the head assuming they both survive the next half hour. Now, if they attack a group of badguys while there are innocents in the near vicinity, or attacking could cause harm to others in some way.. Well, that meets the definition of reckless. A Jedi must respect life, even the lives of his enemies, so causing harm or risking harm to another should be avoided. Another hypothetical, in this one you are faced with a known criminal who has committed heinous acts. He has no hostages, his weapon is not drawn, and he has not yet made any threats or threatening moves. Right now there is no indication that others nearby are in danger. What do you do? As a Jedi, attacking the criminal right off in this situation would be reckless every single time. You disregarded the opportunity to find a peaceful solution in favor of doing harm to another living thing. According to the moral laws of the Jedi a lightsaber should be the last option exercised. And, again, this is a time when their knight/master/padawan/companion should slap them upside the head assuming they survive the next half hour. 2. Unrepentant Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will. -- Yoda unrepentant, adj 1. not penitent or remorseful impenitent penitent 2. stubbornly persistent in wrongdoing "An unrepentant person is one who is beyond rehabilitation, so the only purpose of sentencing is incapacitation or retribution." To Believe or Not To Believe … Is that the Question? Refusing to Apply Section 3E1.1 of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines to the Seemingly Unrepentant Defendant, 73 U. Cin. L. Rev. 1191 (2005) In order of a character to +darkside unrepentant certain conditions must be met 1. They understand the concept of repentance and salvation 2. They are beyond caring about personal salvation or moral condemnation Characters who fall to the darkside fully do not make a hypothetical "Deal with the devil" but they willfully and purposefully sink to the same moral and mental state as the devil. As long as they remain in this state "Mens Rea" is unconditionally met and "Actus Reus" (Action) is all that is needed to continue along the path to the darkside. This is why the fall is total. Category:The Force